So Who Do We Root For Now?

Hey Pens fans.

Our team is out of it, but there’s a lot of hockey left to play.

Who’s the team to root for now?

We’ve got options. First, let’s look at the teams *not* to root for:

Division Rivals

The Rangers
They played well and frankly, I didn’t really feel the hate that I usually get for opponents of the Pens in the playoffs. They’re really just a good team, and other than their fans, it’s tough not think they should keep winning. Maybe just another round or two.

Still, you can’t root for the team that knocked out your team. That’s ridiculous.

The Islanders
No.

If Bruins fans can hold Ulf Samuelsson against us, or if… well, Bruins fans can hold Matt Cooke against us, then I’m fine saying the Islanders paid Trevor Gillies to play hockey and for that they’ll always be a garbage organization. Seems fair.

The Capitals
Again, this is a rivalry that’s kind of sputtered out, and since NBC quit pushing the Ovi-Sid death match in our faces every 30 seconds, it’s been easier to appreciate his dominance. He’s really good and he’s even fun to watch, provided you’re not watching the Caps broadcast and their Poor Man’s Doc Emrick announcer.

Bottom line: they’re all division rivals. You can’t root for any of ‘em.

So who *can* we root for?

Anybody else. Here’s what I’m thinkin’:

Other Eastern Conference Teams

Montreal
Solid solid team. Great goaltending. Even an entertaining coach. So what’s the problem? There isn’t one, unless you don’t want to hear an obnoxious, self-important fan base tell you how much their city deserves the Cup. They’re slightly less obsessed with history than Jack Edwards, king of the dramatic gasbags of the league.

So I’m not totally against them winning it all, but it’s not ideal.

Ottawa
Ehhhh. This is a team that I always forget how much I hate until the Penguins match up with them for a long series. Then I remember Eugene Melnyk owns them and how much I liked Matt Cooke for being Matt Cooke.

It’s ok to root for Bryan Murray and not the Senators.

Detroit
I couldn’t stand the Red Wings during the Cup runs, but that was — checks watch, head explodes — 6 years ago. Since then… I don’t know. Who’s even left on their team? They were pretty boring on 24/7 and I feel like even since then, they’re lost a lot of guys.

Eh, Detroit’s all right. I guess.

Tampa Bay
Tampa’s a fun team. Stamkos is fun to watch like Ovi, they’ve finally got a goalie who can play (was Khabibulin really the last good tender they had?). I don’t know much else about them. They don’t have Ryan Malone anymore. Ryan Callahan’s a gamer (I know a lot of Pens fans don’t like him, but we’re both from Rochester, his grandmother goes to lunch with my grandmother!).

Sure. They’re not Pittsburgh South anymore, so they’ve got that goin’ on.

The Western Conference
(This is where it gets fun!)

Anaheim
They’re a hot team that’s built for the long, drawn out trench warfare (not to mention gamesmanship) of the playoffs. And one of their goalies is from Pittsburgh, right?

Problem is, rooting for them means rooting for Corey Perry. No thanks.

Vancouver
Ehhhhh. I don’t know. I can’t really get excited about this team. I like Eddie Lack. But that’s about it.

Be nice to see the Sedins win something, maybe? If people want to talk about Malkin and Crosby’s unfulfilling careers up to this point (I disagree, but it’s a debate that’s out there), let’s talk about the Sedins. They were literally born to play together; what do they have to show for it?

Calgary
The only thing I know about Calgary is Johnny Gaudreau. Dude’s fun to watch! And I always liked Deryk Engelland. He’s fun to watch too. And Jonas Hiller is pretty ok. And I might be the only one on the East Coast, but I’m rooting for Bryan Burke. Not sure why.

If unpredictable, plucky teams are your thing, I can think of no reason not to root for the Flames.

St Louis
Tarasenko is incredible. Oshie impressed during the Olympics. Backes is a throwback to tough guys who could really play. Pietrangelo is outstanding on the blue line. And I’m not really a fan of Steve Ott, but he’s one of those guys who lives for chippy playoff hockey. I think I’d let him take up a roster spot on the Pens. The only thing I’m not sure of is their goaltending.

Oh yeah, and Panger works their local broadcast. I’m in.

Minnesota
They remind me a bit of the old Ted Nolan Sabres (we’ll call them Ted Nolan 1.0?). They had Mike Peca, who wasn’t great on his own but they billed themselves the hardest working team in hockey and it paid off. And oh yeah, they had a hot goalie, too.

Despite their recent goaltending, the Wild don’t have Dominik Hasek, but they do have more star power than those Sabres did. Tough not to root for them after coming back down the stretch. In our heart of hearts, when we think of the world we want our kids to grow up in, we’re all Devan Dubnyk’ fans, amirite?

Chicago
What’s not to like? I’m usually against one team winning all the time (I was born too late to appreciate Gretzky’s Oilers), but this is a solid group that plays hockey the way it should be played. We’re not going to see a team that’s this good and this deep often, so we might as well enjoy it while it lasts.

Nashville
They seem fun but I don’t know too much about them. Then again, they might be out after tonight, so maybe I don’t need much of a write up.

So I’ll tell a story instead: when the Penguins won the Cup in ‘09, I was in Nashville driving home to New York from a year on the West Coast (hey Kings fans, remember when Erik Ersberg was the heir to Jason Labarbera’s crease?). Anyway, I was watching the game in the motel room (wearing my Rick Tocchet pigeon logo Pens jersey — I thought that was a good omen for this year…) and the Pens held off the Red Wings (thanks, Rob Scuderi!) and my girlfriend and I went looking for somewhere to celebrate. We found an Applebee’s close by (I know…) and decided to get a few drinks.

The server saw us in our jerseys and asked what they were. “The Penguins… Pittsburgh Penguins? They just won the Stanley Cup?” Blank stare back at us, like we’d tried to order something cooked from scratch. “It’s a hockey team?”

“Oh! A hockey team! One of our servers is from Canada, I’ll go get her!”

And he did. He left our table and returned a couple minutes later. “This is Amanda, she’s from Canada.” It was like conversation hot potato; he left her holding it and bolted.

She started timidly: “Yeah, I’m from Canada, but I moved to Nashville. How much do you think I like hockey?”

“Well, do you know who the Penguins are?”

We finished our beers, but I never feel like I got to celebrate that Cup win properly.

Anyway, I think the hockey fans in Nashville are more knowledgable than that.

I just don’t really want to see James Neal win a Cup.

However you want to go forward from here, it’s going to be a long summer for the Penguins. Change is going to come, whether it’s an overhaul of the management again or some tweaks to the roster. Guys will leave, guys will come, and next October, they’ll throw the same sweaters on and play for the Cup again.

Until then, we can enjoy the hockey that’s left.